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This special issue complements the work of the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) coalition in advocating the ratification, domestication and implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. June 2009.
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From February 28 to March 11, 2005, the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) conducted the ten-year review and appraisal of the Beijing Platform for Action (Beijing + 10) and commemorated the thirtieth anniversary of the First UN World Conference on Women held in Mexico in 1975. During 2004, regional meetings were taking place to prepare for this review.

The Objective of the review was to identify achievements, gaps and challenges in implementing the Beijing Platform for Action -signed by 189 governments- and the outcome documents, as well as the Beijing +5 Political Declaration adopted at the five-year review in June 2000. The 49th session of the Commission on the status of Women was a regular session but it had been agreed in the 48th session of the CSW, on March 2004, that it would be a high level event.

The 49th session of the Commission to held in 2005 was more than an expanded session of the regular CSW. Its focus has been different. The work programme for 2005 focused on national-level implementation through interactive dialogue and exchange of good practices. There was about 8 high-level events (panels, roundtables) on a broad range of issues, a high-level opening, the high-level plenary for national statements, and a celebration of international women's day within the CSW itself and not as an interagency event. (See more information on the United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women web site).

The review launched with Beijing +10 found itself in the midst of a debate concerning its desirability. Several NGOs expressed concern over the risks of losing the gains achieved under the platforms adopted at the Conferences in the 1990s, and at the same time were raising questions as to both the efficacy of such world conferences in securing the economic, political and social rights of women, and the strategic roles that feminist activists can play at such events. The same dynamics were at play in the five year review processes. Both Cairo +5 and Beijing +5 revealed the risks faced by the current women's agenda.

Input to the process by regional UN commissions and other regional intergovernmental organizations included organizing meetings to elicit regional perspectives on implementation actions and initiatives, and to report the findings. In spite of expressing concern, women’s organizations were discussing how to participate in the sub-regional meetings. According to WEDO “there is a danger that these reviews may lead to negotiations which could leave women once again having to fight for their material and reproductive rights. It is not too late to influence these negotiations at the regional level, and to strategize and act to avoid negotiations at the global level in 2005”.

Beijing 1995

The Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing in September 1995, culminated with the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. The Declaration secured the commitment of governments to work towards implementing -before the end of the 20th century- the strategies agreed on in Nairobi in 1985, and to mobilize resources to achieve the goals set by the platform.

The Beijing Platform for Action is the most thorough document ever produced by a United Nations conference on the subject of women’s rights, as it incorporates the accomplishments of prior conferences and treaties, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women) and the Vienna Declaration. It also reaffirms the definitions set out in Cairo and adds a paragraph on Human Rights in general.

The Beijing Platform for Action included agreements aimed at eliminating discrimination against women, eradicating poverty and adopting measures towards placing a decisive number of women in key positions. It also recognized that the right of women to control their sexuality and reproduction is one of their human rights, and called on States to review laws containing punitive measures against women who have undergone abortions (reaffirming Article 8.25 of the Cairo Conference). It further posed the need to strengthen legislation protecting the rights of women.

Also of note are the recommendations concerning unremunerated work, the definitions contained in the chapter on armed conflicts, and certain decisions relating to macro-economic issues, as well as the acknowledgement of the racial and ethnic roots of discrimination and inequality. That the terms racial and ethnic were even included in a United Nations document attest to the fact that long-standing resistance on the part of certain member states in this respect was finally overcome.

The Summit focused on the following critical areas of concern:

Inequalities and inadequacies in, and unequal access to education and training

Inequalities and inadequacies in, and unequal access to health care and related services

Violence against women

The effects of armed or other kinds of conflict on women, including those living under foreign occupation

Inequality in economic structures and policies, in all forms of productive activities and in access to resources

Inequality between men and women in the sharing of power and decision-making at all levels

Insufficient mechanisms at all levels to promote the advancement of women

Lack of respect for and inadequate promotion and protection of the human rights of women

Stereotyping of women and inequality in women's access to and participation in all communication systems, especially in the media

Gender inequalities in the management of natural resources and in the safeguarding of the environment

Persistent discrimination against, and violation of the rights of the girl child

Beijing 1995 was preceded by other Conferences and United Nations and civil society meetings, which, starting in the 1970s, have gradually incorporated gender demands, committing governments and generating a broad debate within society through women's organizations.

This report provides resources on the various stages leading up to the 1995 Beijing Summit and its follow-up process, which involved the participation of women's groups from around the world, governments and the United Nations.

Beyond Beijing +10

More than half the women in the world live in countries that have made no progress in gender equity in recent years. This is the main conclusion of the Social Watch 2008 Gender Equity Index (GEI) which, for the first time, shows recent evolution and trends in bridging the gap between men and women in education, the economy and empowerment.

This paper presents a collaborative piece of work aimed at contributing towards current efforts to re-energise and re-politicise the gender equality agenda in international development. The purpose is to re-visit concepts, review and learn lessons from context-specific struggles for equal citizenship. The document's final chapter looks at strategic issues, initiatives and organisations related to this topic, focusing on three regions in which consultations took place Latin America, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. 2007.

The results of the 2007 Social Watch Gender Equity Index (GEI) clearly demonstrate that a country’s level of wealth does not automatically determine its degree of equity. The United States, a high-income country, is one of the 10 countries that have experienced the greatest regression. Obviously, the key to gender equity lies not in a country’s economic power, but rather in its government’s political will. March 2007.

Since the General Assembly of the UN adopted the Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1979, gender equity has been a central theme of the world development agenda.After the World Summit for Social Development in 1995 and the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995, the international community dedicated two of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), whose deadline is the year 2015, to improving the situation of women. MDG 3 calls for the promotion of equality of opportunity between the sexes and for women’s empowerment – equitable representation of both sexes in decision-making processes; MDG 5 requires the reduction of maternal mortality rates by three quarters. November 2006.

Ahead of the important July AU Summit to be held from 25 June -2 July in Banjul, The Gambia, contrasting experiences from two largely Islamic West African countries reveal the cutting edge importance of the African Union Protocol on Women’s Rights in Africa. In the Gambia, Parliamentarians blaze the trail for women’s rights and gender equality by reversing earlier reservations on the Protocol, while in Niger their counterparts vote against its ratification. Faith Cheruiyot in Nairobi interviewed leaders of women’s organisations in the two countries and wrote this article. In addition, Roselynn Mussa presents an analysis on the Protocol and Khédija El Madani's paper looks at women's rights in Islam. June 2006.

In a rapidly changing context dominated by globalization, public policies on gender equality involve bringing together many social and institutional actors. Mechanisms for formulating public policies also play a strategic role in this process. According to ECLAC, a lack of resources for them to fulfill their mandate is apparent, having also a limited access to the innermost circles of decision-making wich makes it difficult to effectively introduce a gender perspective across the board and encourage equity between men and women. 39th meeting of the Presiding Officers of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean. Reports in English and Spanish, May 2006.

The Beijing Betrayed report presented at the Beijing+10 UN Conference mentioned “growing poverty as a powerful trend harming millions of women worldwide”. In India the majority of the approximately 260.3 million people living below poverty line are women. Poverty was aggravated after economic reforms introduced the country to the forces of globalization in a way that women’s labour was casualized and limits were placed on production entitlements on natural resources. 2005 report.

The central part of the activity entitled “From victims to resisting people. Your mouth is fundamental against fundamentalisms” was developed by Iraqi activist Yanar Mohammed, who in her first participation in a WSF showed a surprising clarity of concepts and contagious energy. By Martín Bergel for Choike.

The year 1995 marked both the UN Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, China, and the founding of the World Trade Organization. At the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing) the primary macroeconomic agenda for the women of the world was structural adjustment. Trade as an important issue was hardly recognized, but today has emerged as a key macroeconomic structure that affects the economic security of women, their families and their communities. January 2006 (pdf version).

With thousands of women from around the world, committed, wide-awaken and happy to be together, the 10th AWID Forum began October 27th. Looking back at the 1993 Vienna Conference on Human rights, much has been achieved on the rights of women. However, if we look ahead and we see how the world has changed...it's time to get angry again! said Sunila Abeysekera at the opening session. October 2005.

After years of talk about equal opportunities for women, gender mainstreaming, and even, at the very least, political correctness, it ought to come as a surprise that policy shapers and makers still need to be persuaded of the need to consider the gender implications of whatever they do. The debate continues about whether or not gender mainstreaming is a strategy that can actually ever work as originally envisioned. It has been realized that in many cases it has become an end in itself rather than a means to an end. September 2005.

Critics of the MDG have said that the target goals are over simplistic and too quantitative. The indicators chosen for monitoring reflect only the data which already exist and do not take into account the myriad of differences among countries and cultures. August 2005.

Women’s organizations and networks welcome the improvements brought to the revised version of the Draft Outcome Document dated July 22 (A/59/HLPM/CRP.1/Rev.1), to reaffirm the critical importance of gender equality, women’s empowerment and the promotion and protection of the human rights of women in achieving sustainable development and peace. However, there are still elements crucial to women that have been left out of the July 22 Document.Prepared by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL), Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era (DAWN), United Methodist United Nations Office Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). 25 July, 2005. Pdf format.

"All of us, the people and countries gathered here, have repeatedly stated our commitment both to the construction of a world governed by fair relations between men and women and to the equitable and sustainable use of natural resources. While progress has been made towards this goal, steps have also been taken backward. Now is the time to make headway". March 2005.

At the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing, governments committed to remedy some of the ways in which macro-economic policies impact women negatively and disproportionately. But 10 years later, violations of women’s economic rights have only worsened.

Women's groups celebrated their victory after a United States envoy declared that her government would not press for any changes in an international document that reaffirms what world leaders had pledged at a major summit on women's rights 10 years ago. March 2005.

As the George W. Bush administration tries to influence other nations to endorse its antagonistic views on abortion, feminist scholars and activists from the Arab and Muslim world warn that the U.S. move could cause irreparable damage to their years-long struggle for equality. March 2005.

Women worldwide report that governments have failed to turn the platform into action. The Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO) offered governments a comprehensive view of reality as women themselves see it in 150 countries. March 2005.

Leaders from human rights and women's development organizations are sounding the alarm about the possible U.S. withdrawal from a historic women's human rights agreement currently under review at the United Nations.

Calling on governments to reaffirm the Beijing Platform for Action
International and national non-governmental organizations, networks, and parliamentarians from every region of the world, underline the importance to women worldwide of the ten-year review of the Beijing Platform for Action. They also call to sign on to a civil society letter.

Consultation with women’s rights groups on the Beijing Platform for Action and the Millennium Declaration
The Millennium Campaign, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), and the Heinrich Böll Foundation organized a three-day consultation with women’s organizations to brainstorm on key opportunities and challenges in 2005, focusing on the ten-year review of the Beijing Platform for Action and the five-year review of progress in implementing the Millennium Declaration. December 2004.

From March 1-8, 2005 women across the globe will organize local, national, regional, and international actions to address a broad range of concerns, demand action on commitments to women’s rights and gender equality, and celebrate their gains of recent decades.

This special issue complements the work of the Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) coalition in advocating the ratification, domestication and implementation of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa. June 2009.

The role of international instruments and other initiatives cannot be underestimated. Broad legitimacy beyond the nation state has created some leverage to pursue the gender agenda. However we are faced with growing failure to translate these instruments into reality in the domestic context. The gap between the commitments and their implementation is becoming ever larger, raising the question: what needs to be done? There is no denying that it is very important to have these commitments on paper as markers of progress. What is more important though is using them to ensure actual change in the lives of women. We have to be careful that the gains won in Beijing are not turned back.November 2007.

The Solidarity for African Women’s Rights (SOAWR) has released a quarterly update on the campaign on the Popularization, Ratification, Domestication and Implementation of the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa. The report clearly demonstrates that whereas the ratification of the protocol as an all encompassing and legally binding document is paramount, there are many fronts on which the battle for the equal rights for women must continue to be fought. In the first quarter of the year, several countries and themes have come under the spotlight. The number of ratifications shows a minimal improvement from the same time last year. Despite the tremendous work that has been done by the numerous rights groups across the continent, advocating for the rights of women, there still remain obstacles to their achievement. May 2007.

On 26 October 2005, the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa received its 15th ratification, meaning the Protocol entered into force on 25 November 2005. This marked a milestone in the protection and promotion of women’s rights in Africa, creating new rights for women in terms of international standards. This groundbreaking Protocol, for the first time in international law, explicitly sets forth the reproductive right of women to medical abortion when pregnancy results from rape or incest or when the continuation of pregnancy endangers the health or life of the mother. In another first, the Protocol explicitly calls for the legal prohibition of female genital mutilation.

Gender-based violence is a crosscutting and complex phenomenon that needs to be tackled on all fronts. The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights on Rights of Women in Africa provides a comprehensive mechanism for addressing gender-based violence in Africa. However, African women cannot access because only 4 member states of the African Union have ratified it. By Mary Wandia, November 2004.

The Conference will be held in parallel with the Fourth African Development Forum (ADF IV) on Governance, 6-15 October 2004 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Beijing+10 fits within the global evaluation framework for assessing progress achieved after 10 years of implementing the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action on Women. These two conferences mark an important step towards achieving gender equality and equity in Africa through national and regional action.

The World Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995 raised hopes of a substantial improvement in women's condition across the world and particularly in Africa. The Beijing Declaration and programme of action commits States to taking concrete action in twelve priority areas in relation to women's autonomy. Ten years after Beijing and on the heels of the seventh regional conference at Addis Ababa, in evaluating the implementation of the platform of Action adopted there, where are we now? By Kafui Adjamagbo-Johnson, October 2004.

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights recognizes the importance of women’s rights through three main provisions. However, these provisions are not adequate to address the rights of women. Mainstream international human rights standards are defined in relation to men's experience, and stated in terms of discrete violations of rights in the public realm whereas most violations of women’s human rights occur in private. The private/public dichotomy that is detrimental to women continues to exist. In most African countries, the same constitutional provisions that guarantee gender equality allow exceptions in the so-called “private law” areas of customary law, personal law and family law. Serious violations of women’s human rights such as violence against women and provisions that discriminate against them are found in that private sphere. By Mary Wandia, June 2004.

While the debate goes on as to whether or not another women’s conference is necessary next year, there seems to be some confusion about this particular issue. The Women’s conference is a separate activity from the Beijing +10 Review. These two activities must be discussed separately. The conference in question would be the fifth World Conference on Women. The proposal is that this conference should be held before 2010.

SADC has joined the rest of the world in evaluating the state of implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in 2004 in preparation for the decade Beijing +10 in 2005. The meeting devised some strategies on measures to address the obstacles encountered in the implementation of the recommendations of the Beijing Platform for Action. By Singy Hanyona.

Within the framework of Africa’s contribution in the Global Decade Review of the Beijing Platform for Action on Women (Beijing + 10), the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) launched a series of subregional meetings at experts level to review progress achieved in the 5 subregions, and seek consensus as to what the gender-related priority areas in the subregions are for the next 10 years. Tangiers, Morocco, 21 April 2004.

The statement recognizes the efforts of governments and the UN system to realize the objectives of the Beijing Platform for Action but deplores the rise of unilateralism, neo-conservatism, and corporate power in global governance, institutions and processes as well as the persistence of state violence in the name of national and international security and in some states, the criminalisation of political dissent. Julio 2004.

Nine members of the Association for Progressive Communications Women's Networking Support Programme from the Asia Pacific region are currently at the conference to carry the network's planned activities.

In 1995, Beijing held the largest women’s world conference ever seen. While many issues in the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA) were contentious, the conference ended with one of the most comprehensive international documents ever seen, addressing women’s issues. One critical process for this to happen was the collaborative and consultative process that was undertaken by the women’s movement worldwide to bring forth their positions to Beijing. What have we gained over the years? July 2004.

Representatives of women's NGOs from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan met on October 14-16, 2003 in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan under the theme of Integration of Central Asian Women's Issues into Beijing +10 Review Process. Participating NGOs are members of the network "Central Asian Forum of Women's NGOs" which has been functioning since 1997.

The Convention is the only human rights treaty which affirms the reproductive rights of women and targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and family relations.It affirms women ’s rights to acquire,change or retain their nationality and the nationality of their children.States parties also agree to take appropriate measures against all forms of traffiking and exploitation of women. July 2005.

2000 Beijing +5

The twenty-third special session of the General Assembly on "Women 2000: gender equality, development and peace for the twenty-first century" took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 5-9 June 2000 and adopted a Political Declaration and outcome document entitled "Further actions and initiatives to implement the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action".

This year marks the beginning of worldwide preparations to commemorate, in 2005, the 10th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference of Women in Beijing. This conference mobilized the global women's movement into strategic alliances and collective power. The result was the commitment of all nations to the advancement of women as outlined in the Platform for Action.

Matters calling for action by the Economic and Social Council or brought to its attention, resolutions adopted on women, girl child and HIV/AIDS, on mainstreaming gender perspective into national policies and programmes, indigenous women, etc. July 2005, pdf format.

Exhaustive information from the United Nations Non-Governmental Liaison Service (NGLS). The 49th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women focused on implementation proposals at the national level and identified achievements, gaps and challenges thereby providing an indication of areas where initiatives, within the framework of the Platform for Action and the outcome of the Special Session (Beijing+5), are critical for supplementary implementation. In total, ten resolutions and one Political Declaration were passed that reaffirmed the commitments made ten years ago in Beijing and called for increased perseverance from governments. Pdf format, May 2005.

The United Nations conference on women’s status adopted ways of promoting women’s rights after unconditionally reaffirming the 1995 agreement that women’s rights are human rights. The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) closed a week in which 6,000 women from around the world successfully pressed the U.S. delegation to withdraw a divisive amendment that would have injected U.S. domestic abortion politics into a Declaration of Policy. March 2005, pdf format.

Consensus was reached by the NGOs on some critical overall positions. In particular, NGOs agreed that while they hoped that there would be a lively and meaningful review of implementation of the Platform for Action, they did not want any renegotiations of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Beijing +5 outcome document or any other type of negotiated UN document from this process. There was some discussion and the general affirmation of the desire for a Fifth UN World Conference on Women to take place sometime between 2007-2010. Some ideas were also raised regarding the possibility of women holding their own non-governmental world conference.

Communique that was presented by a SADC Gender NGO Focal Points Working Session that met in Lusaka 25 April to the Sub-regional Decade Review Meeting on the Implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA -Beijing + 10), on April 26-29 2004. The meetings discussed and reviewed the main constraints and challenges encountered in implementing the 12 critical areas outlined in BPFA as obstacles to the advancement and well being of women.

While the debate goes on as to whether or not another women’s conference is necessary next year, there seems to be some confusion about this particular issue. The Women’s conference is a separate activity from the Beijing +10 Review. These two activities must be discussed separately. The conference in question would be the fifth World Conference on Women. The proposal is that this conference should be held before 2010.

During its session from 1-12 March, the UN CSW will make decisions on the format for a Beijiing +10 review. Groups meeting in New York in February 2004, including Amnesty International, the Center for Women’s Global Leadership, CONGO-CSW Committee, IGLHC, the International Women’s Health Coalition, the International Women’s Tribune Centre, WEDO and WICEJ, suggested potential recommendations to the CSW regarding Beijing+10, to be further discussed among NGOs at the CSW. By Carol Barton, Charlotte Bunch and Martha Salazar (pdf format).

At the 47th Session of the Commission on the Status on Women (CSW) in 2003, a group of NGOs (Center for Women’s Global Leadership-CWGL, the Conference of NGOs-CONGO, the European Women’s Lobby and the Women’s Environment and Development Organization-WEDO) met to discuss Beijing +10 and a possible Fifth World Conference on Women. Some of the consensus points that emerged from this group are:

Beijing+10, in 2005, should not be linked to a Fifth World Conference.

There should be assessment of implementation, but no new negotiations in the B+10 Review.

The possibility of a Fifth World Conference on Women should be explored for sometime between 2005 and 2010.

The following ideas emerged out of several activities held as part of a consultation process on the future of women’s human rights sponsored by the Center for Women’s Global Leadership in 2003. They drew up a short paper for broader circulation and discussion. The main thrust is that:

The Beijing+10 year should be an opportunity for global women's movements to re-politicize their movements and to set their own agenda, rather than following the minimalist agenda of UN member-states.

Women's movements should intensify their activities at the regional level, while not ignoring the Beijing+10 review at the UN in March.

Women's movements should take this opportunity to address the context of obstacles to advancing women's human rights, including neo-liberal globalization, the rise of political-religious fundamentalisms, the intensification of militarism and intervention, racism, and resurgent forms of patriarchy.

A group of women met informally at the World Social Forum in Mumbai, India in January 2004 to discuss regional efforts and general strategies around Beijing+10. This was for information-sharing and discussion, and did not seek consensus. A few points that emerged include:

Different regions are taking different approaches to preparation for regional events; some will have NGO-related events. There is an increased sense of urgency to shape regional and global strategies now in order to have a more coherent strategy for 2005.

Some women felt it is necessary to work to address elements inadequately addressed in the BPFA, such as fundamentalism, neoliberalism, racism, castism, and militarism. Some felt that they can have conversations that contextualize their current struggles and raise concerns about missing elements, in the context of implementation, without new negotiation.

There was strategizing about how to get past an NGO focus on minimalist government reports or negotiations, to use B+10 to repoliticize the agenda, and take political space for our issues, particularly at the local level, but also regionally and internationally.

How can they learn from the WSF process about re-politicizing the agenda? How can they involve large numbers of women, not just those who have been part of UN processes in the past? How do they do this without a major mobilization of resources?

The overall strategy concerns taking back space, they don't want government consensus - more central is how and what the issues are.

What Beijing +10 will look like is not yet decided: it could be a high-level, adequately resourced UN-conference, a global summit, a special session of the General Assembly or the assessment could be processed within the regular functions of the UN decision-making organs. In order to facilitate the ongoing discussion process WIDE has opened a discussion forum on the Fifth high level UN Conference on Women.

DAWN (Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era) like a number of other organizations, is concerned about the possibility of setbacks to the gains made for women's human rights during and in relation to the UN conferences of the 1990s.

In July 2002 a group of leaders from global women's movements related to the UN met in Kampala in conjunction with the 8th Women's World Congress, to assess women's movements, the political moment, and prospects for Beijing+10. They concluded that:

There should be multiple "consultations" among women to think analytically about our strategies and the current moment, and to devise a common strategy for Beijing+10.

They should use the opportunity of 2005 to draw up a platform of proposals drawn out of the material from women's struggles. It needs to unite single issues and diverse identities into a common agenda. There should be a global campaign and one theme might be accountability.

There was interest in pursuing a forum, outside of the United Nations process and outside conventional spaces, that would belong to women and that would allow new ideas to develop.

They also expressed the view that the UN process has been enabling and should not be overlooked, but that they cannot rely on it as the only space for their activism.

Women's movements need to critically assess concepts like "gender mainstreaming" and "empowerment," and the way they have been used.

Brazil’s Minister Emilia Fernandes, who heads the Special National Secretariat on Women’s Policy, has declared that the Brazilian Government’s position will always be to honour and defend commitments agreed on in Beijing.

Forum of Women's NGOs of Kyrgyzstanions Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, 1995. Representatives of women's NGOs from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Kyrgyzstan met from 14-16 October 2003 in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan, under the theme of Integration of Central Asian Women's Issues into the Beijing+10 Review Process.

"NGOs want to emphasize the importance of a broad and open NGO Forum organized parallel to the Fifth World Conference on Women. This is essential to maintain the momentum and guarantee the continuation of the process for the empowerment of women around the world."

With the proliferation of resources, energy and participation of NGOs in the numerous UN system world conferences, it is time that the feminist movement begin to ask important questions around not only the efficacy of such world conferences in securing the economic, political and social rights of women, but the strategic roles that feminist activists can play at such events.
Discussion around the positions, ideas and strategies within the international women's movement about participation, and for some, non-participation, in a possible 5th World Conference on Women (WCW).

B +10 regional meetings

The Beijing +10 review process is already underway in regional meetings organized by the UN Economic Commissions in Africa, Asia and Pacific, West Asia, Latin America and Caribbean, and North America and Europe.

Latin America

Two reports are included in this publication: 1) "Latin America and the Spanish-speaking Caribbean: commitments to women's rights surge forward, but implementation lags behing" (Authors, Social Watch Research team: Karina Batthyány, Mariana Cabrera, Graciela Dede, Daniel Macadar and Lucía Scuro - Social Watch International Secretariat); 2) The Caribbean community (CARICOM) advocates reamain steadfast despite stiff struggle for survival (Authors, CAFRA Regional Office. The reports were published in "Beijing Betrayed", book published by the Women’s Environment and Development Organization (WEDO). Pdf format.

After an intense three days of strong pressure from the US Government and right wing NGOs the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) Regional Meeting on B+10 approved by acclamation the "Mexico City Consensus" . This Ninth session of the Regional Conference on Women in Latin America and the Caribbean was held in Mexico City, on June 10-12.

Countries of Latin America and the Caribbean adopt the Mexico City Consensus. In the Consensus Governments also repeat their view that full and effective implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action, the Regional Programme of Action for the Women of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the CARICOM Action Plan is an essential contribution to meeting the Millennium Development Goals approved by the United Nations General Assembly in New York in 2000.

Washington and right-wing anti-abortion groups lost an important battle in Latin America and the Caribbean because despite their threats and pressure, they failed to keep the terms "sexual and reproductive rights" out of the final document of the regional conference on women.

CLADEM and Equality Now have prepared the "Call for Action Beijing +10". In 2005, the Declaration and the Platform for Action will celebrate its 10 years of creation, unfortunately, most of the goals and commitments have not been fully complied by the states parties, specially regarding gender discrimination kaws, like the exemption from penal responsabilityof the rapist through his subsequent marriage to the victim in cases of rape or, regarding the CEDAW´s Optional Protocol, some countries like Argentina, Colombia, Cuba, Chile, El Salvador have not signed it yet. See how to participate in this Call for Action.

UN Commission on the Status of Women

The Division for the Advancement of Women launched the page of the "Review and Appraisal of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and the Outcome Document of the Twenty-third Special Session of the General Assembly". It provides relevant information on the the review and appraisal process.

The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will hold the review and appraisal, which will take place in the context of the 49th session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York from 28 February - 11 March 2005.

In March 2004, Equality Now launched its Beijing + 10 campaign at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, urging governments to revoke all laws that discriminate against women. Equality Now’s report contains a representative sampling of laws that explicitly discriminate against women and in doing so fundamentally contradict the commitments made by governments at the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. September 2004.

Consensus was reached by the NGOs on some critical overall positions. In particular, NGOs agreed that while they hoped that there would be a lively and meaningful review of implementation of the Platform for Action, they did not want any renegotiations of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Beijing +5 outcome document or any other type of negotiated UN document from this process. There was some discussion and the general affirmation of the desire for a Fifth UN World Conference on Women to take place sometime between 2007-2010. Some ideas were also raised regarding the possibility of women holding their own non-governmental world conference.

While a world conference has not been planned for 2005, the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) will undertake a technical assessment of the progress made in the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action during its March 2005 session. The creation of an enabling environment for the substantiation of women's rights, along the lines specified in the Beijing Platform for Action, requires serious and sustained policy reforms, as well as an understanding of the forces and factors that constrain positive action.

From Mexico '75 to Copenhagen '95

Second World Conference on Women. World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace (Copenhagen, 14-30 July 1980). RESOLUTION 35/136 - WORLD CONFERENCE OF THE UNITED NATIONS DECADE FOR WOMEN (Adopted on 11 December 1980 by the General Assembly at its 35th session).

International Conference on Population and Development, Programme of Action. The right to citizenship underwent a transformation at the Cairo Conference. The Cairo Programme of Action established that post-abortion counseling, education and family planning services 'should be offered promptly to help women avoid repeat abortions', and recognised 'the need to revise laws that penalize women who have illegal abortions'.

Among other commitments assumed at the World Summit on Social Development, governments agreed to work towards achieving equality and equity among men and women and to acknowledge and increase women’s participation and involvement in decision-making at all levels of political, civil, economic, social and cultural activities.

Report of the World Conference to review and appraise the achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, development and peace. (End of the Decade for Women Conference, forward-looking strategies towards the year 2000, to which the vast majority of member states have committed themselves). The Nairobi Conference introduced a wider approach to the advancement of women. It was now recognized that women's equality, far from being an isolated issue, encompassed every sphere of human activity.

Earth Summit - Principle 20 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development: "Women have a vital role in environmental management and development. Their full participation is therefore essential to achieve sustainable development".

World Summit on Human Rights - Declaration on Women's Rights and Plan of Action. The Conference took historic new steps to promote and protect the rights of women by supporting the creation of a new mechanism, a Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women. This conference produced a major change in human rights theory, with the recognition -promoted by women- that human rights are to be enjoyed both in public and in private life, and are thus vulnerable to violations in both spheres. Article 38: regards any violation of the specific rights of women as a human rights violation.

UN resources

International Instruments and Treaty Bodies. Information on legal instruments and other relevant international standards of particular importance to women's human rights and gender equality, including CEDAW and other treaty bodies.

Here you can access women and gender information available from the UN system: UN specialized agencies, programmes and funds, UN regional commissions, intergovernmental and treaty bodies and other UN entities and related Organizations.

This report responds to General Assembly resolution 57/182. It reviews steps taken by the Assembly and its Main Committees during its fifty-seventh session to promote the achievement of the goal of gender equality through the gender mainstreaming strategy. Particular focus is placed on actions taken in relation to the follow-up to the United Nations Millennium Declaration and at major events during the year (pdf format).

This book covers more than eighty years of history between women and inter-governmental organizations. Unrecorded by history and untold by the media, this book recalls the success story of women and the League of Nations and describes the unfolding history of women at the United Nations up to the great progress for advancement and empowerment of women that was achieved in the last decade of the 20th century.

Books

This book covers more than eighty-five years of history between women and inter-governmental organizations. Unrecorded by history and untold by the media, this book recalls the success story of women and the League of Nations and describes the unfolding history of women at the United Nations for the advancement and empowerment of women, especially in the 30 years since the First UN World Conference on Women in Mexico City in 1975, and up to the ten-year review and appraisal of the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action in 2005. January 2007, pdf format.

Women worldwide report that governments have failed to turn the Platform into action. Social Watch, acting through the social sciences investigation team coordinated by Karina Batthyány, elaborated the Latin America and the Caribbean chapter of the Spanish version of the Global Report. The team also translated and revised the information registration form that was then sent to the most important women's organizations and networks throughout the region. The received responses where also processed and included in the analysis of the chapter above mentioned . Furthermore, Social Watch also colaborated with the diffusion of the information registration form between the local
gender related groups.

This is a Peter Waterman's review article discussing three works: "Feminisms and Internationalism", "Globalisation and Gender" and "The Global Women’s Movement: Origins, Issues and Strategies". The review draws attention to a new focus in feminist writing on the international/global. Pdf format, March 15, 2005.